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Flowers taking new stance on offensive game

White Sox catcher says he's healthy, feeling good about strong start

4/3/14: Tyler Flowers goes 4-4 with four singles and a run against the Twins

By Scott Merkin
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MLB.com |

KANSAS CITY -- The 2014 version of Tyler Flowers bears little resemblance to the '13 version of the White Sox starting catcher.

And that change has nothing to do with an alteration in physical appearance.

"I feel entirely different as far as pretty much every aspect," said Flowers, when talking about his overall game, which includes a .500 average after going 1-for-4 with a two-run single in Sunday's 5-1 win over the Royals in the series finale at Kauffman Stadium. "My shoulder really doesn't hurt, so that's one aspect that's gone.

"My stance is completely different. I feel like my swing is a whole lot different. All and all, I feel like almost a different player."

Flowers played much of last year with that sore throwing shoulder, which was surgically repaired last September. He struggled through a .195 performance, but he never lost the confidence of his pitching staff, something that hasn't changed during this current campaign.

As for last year, Flowers has a similar view as most of his teammates in that it's done and over, and past history is not to be revisited. He had a streak of seven straight at-bats with hits end in his last trip to the plate on Friday and believes he is doing things to sustain that offensive success.

"Right now, I feel pretty good. I'm keeping everything pretty simple," Flowers said. "I'm probably not going to continue to go 7-for-8, so I don't know yet. Like I said before, the big thing I'm trying to do is be as consistent as I can and put together quality at-bats.

"In the first two games, I didn't really do that as well as I would like. But since then, I feel like I've had quality at-bats. A lot of them have resulted in some hits, but that's not really the point. It's more about seeing pitches and swinging at strikes and taking balls, and putting together quality at-bats. Continue to pile those together game in and game out, day in and day out.

"I'm doing a lot of things that I'm really comfortable with, which I think will be good over the long haul," Flowers said. "I don't need to prove anything as far as vs. last season or anything like that. The big objective is try to feel healthy and, for the most part, I feel pretty good and have all spring."

Scott Merkin is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Merk's Works, and follow him on Twitter @scottmerkin. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.